Locker talks about the offseason

Kirk Herbstreit may not have mentioned Locker — and I’m not of the mindset he should have — but I talked to the Huskies quarterback today. Here’s what he had to say:

Jake, I was out at the workout session Monday and didn’t see a whole lot of guys out there. What was going on?
Locker: I saw you in the stands and thought, ‘What a terrible day for you to get to see!’ We were just throwing around a little yesterday. It’s finals weeks for the summer session and a lot of guys have finals tihs week. Some had tests but a lot had review sessions. So, we said whoever could make it, come on out. That’s hasn’t been what it’s like all season. There’ve been a ton of guys and it has been like that all summer. Honestly.

What have your thoughts been on the young receivers? Are the committed to training? Catching balls? Catching on to what you’re doing? What do you think?
Locker: They ve been to everything. They were really good at being at seven-on-seven all the time. As far as their commtment to learning the offense, being coachable, understanding how different routes are run and how they’re run in the scheme, they did really really well with that.

A lot of them spent extra time in playbook, watching film and that’s only going to help them.

On the field, they did really well. They’re talented, we all now that. You know, every now and then, they were a little slower than they know they can play and made mistakes, but honestly besides that they’re talented. They showed that they want to be good and that’s promising for me.

You say often that you don’t read the newspapers, magazines, blogs, etc. But you can’t have missed all the talk about coach Tyrone Willingham being on the hot seat. Does that affect you and your teammates?
Locker: I think it’s something we’re conscious of. It’s so much of a buzz, but I don’t think it’s something that we, maybe, put more pressure on ourselves over.

We want to be successful — all of us. But it’s not for people’s jobs or positions; it’s just for the sake of winning. Winning is fun, it’s enjoyable, that’s what it’s about. We want to enjoy ourselves while we’re here.

The added pressure that people would think is there, it isn’t. We’ve put the same pressure on ourselves and that won’t change.

We’re less than two weeks away from the beginning of camp. Thoughts?
Locker: I’m really excited. We took a couple people into the Legends Center today and looked around. There’s the video with the pregame stuff and I literally got the chills. It’s getting to that point where you’re getting the itch. I can’t wait to put pads on and getting on the field. It’s awesome, taking the field at Husky Stadium. I’m so excited.